TAUGAR - ICELAND DANCE COMPANY

As a part of the February edition of RDF for the first time ever - Iceland Dance Company premieres two unexpected and exciting dance performances in The Reykjavik City Theatre.

Now under a new leadership of Erna Ómarsdóttir, a well known dance maker to the RDF audience, the company presents two works by Saga Sigurðardóttir (IS) and Karol Tyminski (PL)

BLÝKUFL (CLOAK) BY SAGA SIGURÐARDÓTTIR

A group of people join together to co-exist. CLOAK is no less a ceremony than a piece of dance: A ceremony about love - love that draws us in, breaks down our fortresses and unites us.

Gríma award winner Saga Sigurðardóttir is a dancer, choreographer and theology student from Reykjavík. After studying modern dance at Iceland National Ballet School she trained as a choreographer at the ArtEZ academy in The Netherlands. During the last eight years Saga has worked as a progressive dance artist, winning numerous prizes and recognitions for her pieces where she investigates existence and condition. Her piece CLOAK is inspired by Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism, where one meets eternity in dance.

LIMINAL BY KAROL TYMINSKILiminal is a performance inspired by the middle stage of transition. When the previous status no longer holds and the new one hasn't been constructed. A stage of ambiguity, confusion and great intensity.

The dancer is the material for artistic creation, which s/he constructs and destructs. Fluctuating between reality and spirituality, sacred and profane in a ritual-like act.

Karol Tyminski is a Polish performer and choreographer. He is a graduate from P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels and Warsaw Ballet School, and a co-founder of the Centre in Motion, Choreographers Workspace in Warsaw. In his work, Tyminski presents the idea of a performer as a vessel that can be filled with any idea or story. His characters often oscillate between different roles, femininity, masculinity, or even beyond sexual definition. Developing his choreographic language, Tyminski deviates from the formal aspects and explores the very physicality of the performer's body, almost at tissue-level. He aims to speak about human condition, reaching the emotional side of a performer by penetrating its physicality. These activities are often close to ritualistic experiences as was demonstrated in his earlier piece "Beep", which was said to be one of the most radical and exciting performances in recent years by Europe's leading dance critic, Helmut Ploebs. Tyminski’s artistic activities have been recognised by the support of various foundations and institutions, such as the European Commission and Advancing Performing Arts Projects (APAP).